


Christmas Vacation

by Ero_the_Great_I



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-03-25 08:07:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3802981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ero_the_Great_I/pseuds/Ero_the_Great_I
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to the Meetings Series of One Shots. And I really suck a summaries.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Huh, guess I just can't let go of these two. Oh well, I hope you enjoy this and that it's gonna tide you over until the next episode :)  
> This was also intended to be a long one-shot but I split it into chapters so that it looks a bit cleaner overall.

**Christmas Vacation**

  

“Max?” Max's eyes shot open when she felt a hand shaking her right shoulder gently, waking up from the slumber that she must have fallen into. Blinking her eyes she looked at the hand, then the person it belonged to. Kate. Her girlfriend. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

“Kate?” Looking around she noticed she was in her science classroom. “What are you doing here? You don't have science.”

Kate giggled, that ever so pretty smile on her face. “Classes are over.”

“Wha-?” It was only now that Max noticed that they were the only ones in the room. She wondered for a moment why Warren hadn't kept her awake but then she remembered, that he was sick this week. _Well, that certainly explains why I fell asleep. Science is so boring..._

And she finally had proof that their teacher didn't pay any attention to her either. _Is that a good thing?_

Kate removed her hand and Max stretched herself a little, returning Kate's smile, albeit tiredly. She got up from her chair and placed a small kiss on Kate's cheek. “Thanks.”

“Couldn't let you stay here and be discovered by the staff, right?”

Max looked at Kate, took in her pretty features. It still felt a little surreal. They were together. All the leftover sleep evaporated as she thought about the kisses they shared or how wonderful it felt when they hugged one another, knowing full well their feelings were mutual.

She threw aquick glance to the door to make sure no one was there and leaned forward to give Kate a peck on the lips. Kate's smile widened.

They hadn't made their relationship public yet, on Kate's insistence, and while Max couldn't fault her for being careful about the whole deal after the viral video a small part of her was a little frustrated that they couldn't be public about it. Strange coming from someone as introverted as her, she knew. Maybe a certain BFF of hers was having some influence on her.

Chloe knew about the relationship of course, but mostly because she had already known about Max's feelings and because as her BFF she couldn't possibly hide it from her and not get an earful later. Stella and Alyssa knew too and had agreed to keep quiet about it.

“Let's get out of here”, Max said and they both left the science room.

A wave of cold air hit them in the face as they left the building and headed for the girl's dorm. Now Max missed the warm early October. It was late December. The last week before everyone would return home for Christmas and New Years.

As they headed for Kate's room they passed by Dana, who was already busy packing a few things and talking to someone on the phone. When she spotted the two of them and smiled and gave them a quick wave with her hand and returned to what she was doing.

“I should start to pack some of my stuff too. Not like I have a lot I'm gonna take back with me”, Max said as the two entered Kate's room.

“Me too. It's only a twoweeks after all.” Kate pulled off her jacket and hung it on her coat hanger.

Two weeks.

Two weeks where they couldn't see each other. Where instead of kissed all they could exchange were texts and a few calls.

 _This sucks. Hard._ She knew it wasn't that much and she was being a little drama queen, but that was how she felt. Max pulled off her jacket as well, laid it neatly on Kate's sofa and walked over to the other girl.

“Want me to make some-” before Kate could finish she was silenced by a kiss. The kiss lasted for a few seconds and when their lips separated, Max simply smiled and pulled her towards the bed. After lying down Max pulled Kate closer, who didn't waste any time to snuggle up to her. “I'll take that as a no then.”

“Let's just stay here all day.” Max said.

They remained that way for a few minutes, room completely silent bar a few noises from Bonnie's cage. Max found herself looking at the ceiling, deep in thought. It would be strange. Sure they weren't together that long and they didn't spend all the time with each other since Kate still had all her other activities and Max usually used that time to hang out with her other friends, mostly Chloe. But they always were together during the evening. Watching a movie, drinking tea, kissing and cuddling.

She was pretty sure she would act like a junkie not being able to get his next fix during their time away from each other.

“What's on your mind?”

“Can't we just stay here during Christmas break?” Max asked. “Just lock ourselves in here and stay all day in bed.”

Kate giggled and brushed her nose against Max's chin. She then pushed herself into a sitting position and looked at her. “You know that we can't.”

“Yeah. But it's still a nice thought, isn't it?”

“Hmm, yes.” she got back to her feet, making Max sit up and look at her. “If you don't want any tea, that's OK, but I'm going to make myself a cup.”

Max couldn't help but chuckle and let herself fall back onto the bed. _Definitely gonna miss this._

 

\- - -

 

“Welp. There's your bus”, Chloe said as their bus arrived at the small station a bit outside of Arcadia Bay they had been waiting at for half an hour. She took another drag of her cigarette and exhaled it away from Max and Kate.

Max was glad that her BFF and girlfriend seemed to get along in those few instances that they all had hung out together. But like Chloe had told her at the lighthouse back then she thought that Kate was cool and she had done nothing to antagonize her, which was kind of a first for the new Chloe.

And Kate had no problem getting along with Chloe either, but that was typical Kate for you.

“I'm gonna scram then, it's pretty fucking cold out here”, She said with a grin.

“Alright”, Max said and gathered her BFF in a hug. “See you in a few. And this time I'm definitely gonna text and call you.”

“You better”, Chloe said and returned the hug. “And say hello to your folks from me.”

They let go of each other and Chloe turned to Kate, who looked at them with a small smile. “Don't let your smother ruin your mood, will ya?”

“Don't worry. My father and sisters are there too, so I'm gonna survive. But thanks for your concern.”

“Yeah well, I'm a fucking saint like that”, Chloe said a little ironically, playfully poked Kate's shoulder and walked off, leaving the other two girls to look at one another. Max shrugged.

“Let's get into the bus, it IS cold”, Max suggested and Kate couldn't agree more. Inside they sat down, stowing away the little bit of luggage they had under the seats. Only the small traveling cage, in which Bonnie was sleeping right now, stayed firmly on Kate's lap while she had a book placed on it for convenient reading.

The bus didn't stay at the station for very long and was soon leaving for it's next destination. It would take a few hours until they arrived at Portland where Max would get into the train straight to Seattle while Kate would take another bus to Salem.

“Wanna listen with me?” Max asked Kate as she pulled out her mp3 player, offering her one of headphones.

“Yeah, thanks”, Kate said and plugged it into her ear. She then leaned her head against Max's shoulder and resumed reading, the music of Syd Matters serving as nice background music to the novel.

All the while Max looked out of the window, watching the trees pass by.

The ride to Portland was uneventful. Halfway through Kate had grown tired of the book and the two had spend the rest of the ride simply enjoying the last bit of time that they still could spend together.

As they stepped out of the bus they walked hand in hand until they arrived at the bus that would take Kate to Salem. Kate turned towards Max and placed Bonnie's cage on the ground.

“Well...This is it. Thanks for accompanying me until here.” Kate smiled cutely, making Max's face heat up.

“I still have some more time until my train leaves anyway. Besides,” Max took her Kate's other hand and held them both in front of her. “Isn't that what a good girlfriend does?”

“I suppose it is.” They looked into each others eyes, slowly drawing closer when Kate suddenly backed off, her hands slipping out of Max's. “Oh!”

“Oh?” Max furrowed her brows a little. Did she just avoid the kiss? _There's not even someone here that could possibly know us._

“I almost forgot.” Kate opened her bag and pulled out a neatly wrapped present and held it out in front of her. “Here. But don't open it until Christmas.”

 _Oh..._ , Max thought, feeling incredibly stupid now, and took the present. “Thanks, I-uh-yeah I actually did forget we wanted to swap present here. Wait”, she opened her own bag and swapped out the present that she had stored there and handed it Kate, her other hand rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. “Here.”

Kate giggled and took the present. She put it away and looked at Max for a moment, then leaned forward to plant a little kiss on Max's lips.Sadly it was over too quickly for Max so she pulled her into a hug, leaning her forehead against Kate's for a few more moments until it was time for her to go.

“I don't know exactly if I'm gonna have time to call youlater today”, said Kate and picked up the cage. “There's still bound to be some preparations. I'll definitely call you tomorrow eveningafter the Christmas mass. Promise.”

“I'm most likely gonna be beat tonight anyway, so no worries. Tomorrow evening then.” Max stole another small kiss from her and smiled. “You better go now. And like Chloe said, don't let your mother get to you.”

“I'll try, really. I, uh, talk to you later.” Kate said, not used to these kind of goodbyes and walked to the bus, looking over her shoulder a few times to check if the other girl was still there. Max watched her get into the bus and sit down at one of the windows. Not a minute after she had seated herself did the bus close his door and started to drive off. They waved each other goodbye as long as they could, until Max was left standing, watching as the bus left her field of view.

Releasing a sigh she turned around and started to leave the bus station to get to the nearby train station. _Don't worry, Max. It's not gonna be that long and you already agreed to talk tomorrow._

“Fuck”, she muttered under her breath. She missed her already.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 

Kate closed her eyes and sunk into her seat.  _'I'll try, really.'_ _Easier said than done._

Her mother always had a way to get to her. She didn't even have to say anything. A look was all it needed for her to know that she was disappointed  in her.  Just like the day they had visited her in hospital.

Oh she had shouted, in fact Kate had done her fair share of shouting too. Her father had to break them up before one of the nurses came to check what all the ruckus was about. Her mother had quieted down afterwards, opting instead to just give her that look.

They hadn't talked since then.

Kate was just glad that Max had visited her later that day, just like she had promised after her first visit, soothing her mind and spirit with her presence and encouraging smile alone.

Max. She really was her guardian angel and just thinking about her caused her to get butterflies in her stomach. She was happy with her. Happier than she ever was. Yet without her here she couldn't help but wonder what was in store for her at home.

With a sigh she pulled out her phone and called home. They would need to know when she would arrive. As she heard the beeping of the line she prayed to the Lord that it wouldn't be her mother.

“Hello, Marsh residence.” a young voice greeted her.

Kate let out a sigh of relief. It was Lynn. “It's me, Kate.”

“Kate!” she could hear the excitement in her little sister's voice. “Where are you? Are you there yet?”

“No.” she chuckled. “I just got into the bus. I thought it was better to call ahead. Can you tell Mom and Dad that I'll be at the Greyhound station in about an hour and a half?”

“I'll tell Pop. Mom just left to do some shopping and that can take a while.”

“Thanks. See you soon.”

“See you.” Kate ended the call and put her phone away. Well, so far so good. She wouldn't have to face her mother immediately. She once again pulled out the novel that she had been reading earlier and kept herself busy with it.

An hour and a half later the bus arrived at the station and as Kate left she could already see the all too familiar car and the glasses wearing man nearby. With a bright smile she walked over to him, putting down the cage so that she could hug him. “Dad!”

“How are you?” her father hugged her back and his voice was kind like always when he spoke to her. Kate looked at him for a moment.

“Sometimes it's still a bit rough. But I'm doing better. Much better.” she hesitated for a second, thinking of the last time they had seen each other. At the hospital. “I'm sorry about what I've said that day in the hospital.”

“What matters is that you're alright.”

“But...” She had said a lot of hurtful things, mostly aimed at her mother.

“We were all a bit emotionally charged, I think. But let's not talk about this here. Poor little Bonnie is probably freezing. Let's get into the car.” With a smile he took the small cage and placed it into the back seat while Kate put her other things into the trunk.

“The video...”, Kate said as they got into the car and instantly regretted it when she saw the look on her father's face turn sad. “It's down. Probably not completely but it's at least something. I...I thought you'd like to know. I-”

“Kate”, her father said, started the car and slowly drove away from the station. “It wasn't your fault.”

“I shouldn't even have gone to that party. I just...I just wanted to have fun like that for once and this is what happened.” Kate frowned and looked down at her fingers, counting the golden rings.

“I cannot fault you for wanting to have fun. You are young and should make friends, where else if not at a party? Of course,” his mouth turned into a thin line. “There is always a wolf on the prowl among the sheep. But I'll say it again: it wasn't your fault, Kate. It's time that you forgave yourself. God already has.”

“And you?” Kate asked, her voice all but a whisper, turning to look at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

He turned to look at her, that kind smile she loved forming on his lips. “I've never blamed you. You are and always will be my light against the dark. I love you.”

Not being able to hold it in any longer she started to cry. But this time it were tears of happiness.

“I love you too, Dad.”

“Now, why don't you tell me about your friends?”

Kate nodded, wiped her tears away, and told him about what they had done in the past weeks.

 

\- - -

 

Later that day Max stepped out of the King Street Station. Her limbs were feeling a bit stiff from all the sitting around and all she wanted to do was get back home, put on something comfortable and relax a little. _Now where are Mom and Dad?_

It didn't take long to find them and she rushed over to them, hugging both of them tightly.

“Wow wow. Hold your horses, Missy.” her father laughed as he hugged her back, his thick beard tickling her.

“How are you, sweetie?” her mother asked.

“Great. I've got so much to tell you. And I've taken a lot of pictures, you have to see them.” Max grinned excitingly. She had missed her parents so damn much. It felt good to be back with them.

“Let's get into the car then.”

The three of them got into the family's rather old Dodge and drove off.

“So.” her father started. “How are Joyce and Chloe?”

“They get by. It's been tough these past years for them. Joyce remarried and Chloe isn't on so great terms with her step-dad.” Max told them and opened her camera bag, looking through the various photos she kept in there.

“William's death must have been hard for her”, her mother said.

“Yeah it was. But she's starting to finally let go.” Max smiled a little and pulled out a photo she had taken of Chloe while they hung out together at the lighthouse, grinning from a stupid joke she had just made a few seconds before she took the shot. She handed the photo to her mother in front of her.

She took a look at it and gasped out. “Oh my god.”

“What?” her father wanted to know. He peeked to the side to get a better look at the photo, still being mindful of the traffic in front of him though. “Holy crap. That's Chloe? Is she fronting a punk band?” he scoffed jokingly “Nice tattoo though.”

“Dad!” Max laughed and pulled out another photo and handed it to her mother.

“Oooh, and who is this handsome young man?”

“That's Warren.”

“He looks nice. Do you like him?” her mother smiled at her knowingly. Oh, if only she knew how wrong she was.

“He's my friend. A real crack at science and pretty geeky.”

“He doesn't look THAT handsome”, her father commented. “Does he listen to Queen?”

“Nope.”

“Then don't even think about dating that one”, he said, his face splitting into a grin when her mother glared at him. Max pulled out the next photo, it was of Kate. She had taken that one after class and Kate smiled while looking at her, her face propped on one of her hands. Looking at it for a few seconds longer she handed the picture to her mother.

“And this is Kate.”

“She looks like a sweet girl”, her mother said.

“She is. She's the first person at Blackwell that I befriended.” she smiled at the memory of that day. She had been so damn awkward, but Kate hadn't been bothered by it and simply welcomed her with open arms.

“I'm happy you made friends. And that Chloe and you are still thick as thieves apparently.”

“Me too, Dad.”, she said, leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes, a contend smile on her face as she spend the rest of the ride listening to her dad telling her what happened on their end.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 

She was surprised how well everything had went so far. Back home she had been eagerly greeted by her sisters, especially Lynn didn't want to let go of her and it had brought a smile to her face. The rest of the day she had spend helping decorate the house.

When her mother arrived though, her mood had grown darker once more, fully expecting another fight to break out between them. But her mother had simply greeted her with a “Welcome home, dear.” and went on her business. The rest of the day they had mostly ignored one another, even during dinner they hadn't said anything to each other.

After dinner Kate had gone to bed, more exhausted by the day than she thought.

The next day hadn't been different. They mostly ignored each other, which was fine with Kate. She spend most of the time with her sisters, telling them about all the things Blackwell had to offer and about her friends, which had quickly become mostly about Max of course. She hoped she hadn't come off as too sappy or else she might as well run around with a sign telling everyone that she was head over heels.

Evening came and they were now in church. Kate smiled as she watched Lynn and the other girls of the choir sing O Holy Night. She still remembered how it had been her standing there when she was Lynn's age.

She loved this church. She always felt especially close to God here. Clasping her hands she offered a silent prayer to the Lord. She glanced over to rest of her family and spotted her aunt. Kate had never liked the woman and the letter she had received from her in October only had reinforced that opinion after she had managed to free herself from the despair, she had been feeling at the time. She was exactly the type of person that made people like them look bad in the eyes of other people. And as a member of this church no less.

But Kate didn't want to think about this, so she turned her eyes back to Lynn. After the choir finished the song the pastor took the word and Kate listened intently to what he said.

After the mass was over she left with the rest of her family and they silently drove back home. Once they were back her mother had gone into the kitchen to prepare dinner while her father went upstairs and her sisters went into living room. Kate decided to go into her room, heading up the stairs too. She stopped while passing her parent's bedroom when she spotted her father standing there, looking intently as the framed family photo that stood on bedside table.

“Dad?” she asked, making him turn around. He didn't notice her. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm. That got his attention. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, of course. Why shouldn't I be?” he smiled at her, but she could see that it was a fake one. The look she gave him made it pretty clear that she didn't believe him. He sighed and sat down on the bed. “Close the door?”

Kate closed the door and sat down beside him.

“You mother and I. We're currently...going through some tough times. Not because of you, I assure you. It's been like that for a while now.” he sighed once more. “We're regularly meeting with a counselor to help us make things better and we're already making some progress. Sometimes I just get a bit melancholic and think of how things used to be.”

It pained her to hear these words, and while she and her mother had never seen eye to eye in various things, she never doubted once that her parents loved each other. _But I guess even that_ _is_ _n't_ _a constant._

Would Max and her someday go through the same thing? Would they even get so far?

That thought scared her. Max was important to her. Her guardian angel. She made her feel these wonderful feelings that she had never experienced with such intensity.

And yet she never expressed those feelings openly when they were at Blackwell, just because she was afraid of what everyone would say. Like she was ashamed of the feelings Max and her shared. It only dawned to her now that she was not being fair to Max. And how was their relationship supposed to stand any chance at all if they already started off like this?

As she saw the look in her father's eye Kate made a decision here and now. _No more hiding._

“Dad.” she placed a hand on top of his. “I'm sorry if I'm only adding to your problems now, but I have to tell you something and it wouldn't be fair to keep it a secret any longer. I'm....in a relationship with someone and it's...a girl.”

Her father just looked at her, neither shocked or angry, he just looked at her for a moment until she broke the silence. “Who?”

“Max. Max Caulfield.” Kate turned her head and looked down at the carpet.

“She's the girl that you were talking about earlier. The principal told us she was the one that talked to you on the roof.”

Kate nodded. “Yes. She's the one that saved my life.”

“I never had the chance to thank her”, he said. Kate looked at him once again and saw the small smile his lips formed. “You have to introduce us someday.”

Letting out a sigh of relief Kate smiled. “I will.”

“How long?”

“Not that long. But...I think there was always a bit of a spark there. It was only after she helped me that I realized it. God had brought her there to stop me. In my darkest moments she was _my_ light against the dark. My guardian angel.” Kate said.

“If that is the way you feel about her then I approve. But I think it would be better if this stays between you and me for now. I will...tell your mother in due time.” he lifted his free hand to silence her. “I want you to enjoy your time here as much as possible. And telling her will only result in an argument. So let me take care of this. I'll calm her down when the time comes.”

“Alright...”, Kate said, even though she didn't like it she knew he was right. Her mother would throw a fit regardless of any kind of relationship and she really didn't need this right now. She was just glad that she could tell her father. And first thing she was going to do once Max and her were back at Blackwell was to stop hiding.

“Good. Now try to relax a little until dinner.” he smiled at her, this time a truly, and rose from his sitting position. Reluctantly Kate too got back onto her feet and left, heading for her own room. Inside she pulled sat down at her desk and looked out of the window. Outside she saw the familiar suburb area she had grown up in, alight with Christmas decorations. But things were different from when she was a little girl. Some changes were good, some were bad, but she supposed those were the challenges that God gave someone in life on their path to happiness.

She just hoped they could overcome them.

With one hand she pulled her smartphone out of her pocket and called Max.

 

\- - -

 

Max walked into her room, having just gotten back from re-watching Home Alone with her father, which they always did on Christmas eve. It just had lot of memorable scenes. Like the one where Kevin was using Angels with Filthy Souls to scare off Marv.

 _Hahahahahahahaha._ _K_ _eep the change, ya filthy animal!_ she laughed to herself. She never would get enough of that one. Back when they were younger Chloe and her actually had planned to booby trap the way to their tree house in a similar way as Kevin had done in the movie. After dinner they would watch the second one. But not the third, fourth or fifth. Those didn't exist.

She threw herself on her bed, grabbed Captain and pressed him to her chest. She remained that way until her phone vibrated. Putting her teddy to the side she lifted herself of the bed enough so that she could pull her phone out. It was Kate.

With an eager grin she answered the call. “Hey.” she greeted her.

“Hey, Max”, Kate said and from the tone of her voice she knew that something was on her girlfriend's mind. But if Max was honest she expected it a little, as sad as it was.

“How are you?”

“Fine. A bit drained maybe, but not 'over humanity' level of drained. I just had a talk with my father is all.”

“About what, if it's alright to ask?” Mas asked and pulled herself up in a sitting position.

“Dad just told me that him and Mom have been seeing a marriage counselor for quite some time. He said that it wasn't because of me, but it can't have helped their situation either, so part of me feels guilty.”

“You couldn't have known.” Max assured her. And at the time Kate had herself to worry about.

“I know.” she sighed. “And the only thing I can do now is to pray that everything will work out.”

“It will. I'm sure of it.”

“You're full of crap, you know that?”

“Yeah, I think you already told me that once before. But you don't seem to mind.” Max grinned and pulled Captain onto her lap. “Captain says 'hello' by the way.”

This earned her a small laugh. “Thanks Max. For being there.”

“I would be a pretty shitty girlfriend if I wasn't.”

“I miss you”, Kate said, her voice growing soft and making Max feel warm all over, wishing she could hug her right now. Instead she used Captain as a substitute.

“I miss you too. Only twelve more days.”

“I can't wait.” she could hear the smile through her voice. “I also have some good news though.”

“Oh?”

“I've told my father”, Kate said. “About us that is. And he approves.”

Max felt her eyes widen in surprise. Did she just hear right? Kate told her father? She opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally managing to say: “Really? T-that's great!”

“Yeah. You don't know how relieved I am.” Max heard a sound from the other line and another voice joining the conversation but couldn't make out what the person was saying, not that she had much of a mind for that after hearing what Kate had just said. “Sorry, dinner is ready. I'll talk to you later.”

“Enjoy your meal. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Max looked at the display of her phone, mulling over what Kate had said. She told her father. Max hadn't even thought about telling her parents and here was Kate one upping her so to speak. Kate!

Not that she wasn't happy with this turn of events. Maybe this meant they could be more out in the open in the future. Lying back down, she looked at the ceiling.

She should tell her parents too. But how should she do it? It's not exactly any day your daughter comes out to you and tells you that she has a girlfriend.

 _How would you do it?_ she looked at the one eyed face of Captain staring back at her. _Yeah, I figured you wouldn't know either._

Best just get it over with then. What could possibly go wrong? _Famous last words..._

Putting her teddy bear against her pillow she got to her feet and left her room, heading towards the kitchen where her parents were currently making dinner. She knocked on the door frame to get their attention.

“Mom, Dad can...can we talk?” she asked them.

Her parents looked at each other. “Uh oh”, her father said. They all sat down at the kitchen table. Max looked down at her hands, trying to figured out how she should start, while her parents patiently waited for her to begin. Her heart was beating all the way up to her ears.

 _Groan. Just say it already!_ Taking a deep breath she said, “I'm bi.”

They blinked. At the same time in fact. It would have looked pretty funny to Max if she wasn't so damn nervous. “Oooookay?” her father took the word, more or less.

 _Alright, let's best start at the beginning here, Max_ “I really only fully realized it recently, but I've always had this feeling that I might like girls too. Sometimes when watching other girls...You know...” she cleared her throat, stopping herself before she mentioned those times in the girl's changing room where being self conscious about undressing in front of other girls had taken on a whole new meaning. “At the time I didn't make much of it because, well, you know me. Socially awkward and all. But now I'm absolutely positive about what I feel.”

“What is the cause?” her mother asked.

Max blushed a little. “Actually that's the other thing I've wanted to tell you. I've got a girlfriend.”

Her parents looked at each other again. Then her father leaned back and looked relieved. “And here I was thinking you were about to tell us you're pregnant.”

“You're not mad or anything?” now it was Max's turn to blink. Maybe she had watched too much TV on the subject, but she had been expecting a different reaction. But then again it was Christmas, so small wonders shouldn't be so strange. And with all that she had experienced for all she knew Santa was actually very much real. She wouldn't be remotely surprised.

“Max”, her mother said with a smile. “You're our daughter. Something like this won't change that. And if you're happy then we're happy too. So who is the lucky girl?”

Max felt a wave of relief wash over her and her face split into a smile. “You've seen her on the photos earlier. Kate's my girlfriend.”

“I remember.” her mother nodded. “That nice girls.”

Her father grinned and held up a fist for Max to bump. “Good job on snagging ten.”

“Dad!” Max burst into laughter as her mother slapped his arm, but still bumped his fist, all the tension that she had felt before gone. It didn't take long for her parents to join in.

Once their laughter died down her parents went back to working on the dinner while Max answered all the questions they had about Kate.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 

 

Christmas and New Year had come and gone faster than Max had thought and it was now Sunday the 5th of January. She was sitting in the bus taking her back to Arcadia Bay, reading A Sound of Thunder and Other Stories. Kate's Christmas present to her. It made the drawing set she had given her look cheap in comparison, but Kate insisted that she too loved the present.

She smiled, happy to be reunited with her girlfriend soon, but also to see Chloe and the others too.

As she looked out of the window she saw that it wasn't long until her stop, so she closed the book and put it into her bag and instead listed to some music for the rest of the ride.

Soon the bus stopped and Max could already see the telltale blue hair of her BFF before she spotted the car. She gathered her things and got out of the bus, walking over to Chloe.

“Hey Chloe, whatcha playin'?” Max gathered Chloe in a hug.

“What the fuck kinda greeting is that?” Chloe asked but none the less hugged her back. “Where's your girl?”

“She called me on Friday. Told me that she would be here earlier than me.” She had felt a little bit disappointed that they couldn't come back here together, but from their talks over the phone she could understand that Kate would want the earliest opportunity to get away from their current family drama. And in the end all that mattered was that they were together.

“What?! And she didn't tell me?” Chloe asked. “We could've hung out yesterday. Was bored outta my fucking mind.”

Max grinned. “She was probably just tired.” _And you can be a hand full._

“Ah, whatever. Come on, I'll give you a ride so you can get all that crap to your dorm.”

They got into the car and Max leaned into the seat as she watched the trees pass by while they drove towards Blackwell Academy.

“Dad likes your tattoo by the way”, Max said offhandedly.

“Have I ever told you that your Dad's kinda weird, but in a cool way?”

“No, but that does describe him pretty well.”

Twenty minutes later Chloe pulled into parking lot of Blackwell. They got out of the car and headed towards the main entrance and from there to the dorms. On their way there they ran into a familiar face.

“Max!” it was Warren. He grinned and walked over to them. Max noticed the look that Chloe gave Warren, one that she had seen a few times now, like his mere presence was kind of a joke that only Chloe was getting. “You should've told me you were already back, I could have picked you up.”

Chloe scoffed beside her.

“Hey Warren. How are you?” Max asked.

“Great! You seriously have to see what I've got for Christmas. It'll blow your mind.”

“Sure, but right now I wanna get back into my room, I'm a little beat.” Continuing their walk towards the girls dorm, Warren decided to tag along since he had something to give Brooke anyway. But as soon as they rounded the corner Max stopped in her tracks as she spotted a familiar head of blond hair sitting on one of the benches, talking with Dana and Juliet.

Seemingly sensing that someone was watching her Kate turned her head to look into her direction. The smile on her lips widened and she said something to the other two girls before standing up and walking towards Max.

“Hi Kate”, Max said, meeting her halfway, and reached out to give her a hug when out of the blue Kate cupped her face and kissed her right on the lips. She didn't even manage to be surprised so starved was she for this, only a whimper making it past her lips as she circled her arms around Kate's waist and pulled her close.

Behind her Warren let out a strangled noise while Chloe just gave him the smuggest look that she could manage. Which turned out to be very smug, coffin nail between her lips and all.

Kate broke the kiss and smiled when Max immediately tried to lean in to snatch another kiss.

“Hi”, was all she said, then leaned forward to kiss her again.

No more hiding.


End file.
